Nearly a year ago, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were traded by the Philadelphia Flyers, to the Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets, respectively, in a massive shakeup.

For both players, getting traded, took some getting used to.

"We were pretty mad. I'm not going to lie," Richards told The Washington Times. "It's something that I've never had before. I've never been traded; Jeff's never been traded. For us to be traded at the same time, I think was a lot of venting to each other."

Flyers management reportedly wanted to change the culture of the team and make room under the salary cap for goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

Still, the June 23 trades, which occurred nearly an hour apart, came as a shock throughout the league. Richards was sent to L.A. for forwards Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds, and an undisclosed draft pick.

Carter was dealt to Columbus for forward Jakub Voracek, the No. 8 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft (Sean Couturier) and a third-round pick in the 2011 draft (Nick Cousins).

Richards and Carter both struggled in their new locales, until a February trade brought the good friends back together. L.A. dealt defenseman Jack Johnson and a first-round pick to Columbus for Carter, at Richards' urging.

Kings assistant and former Flyers coach John Stevens was not shocked by what happened when Richards and Carter became teammates again. Stevens coached Richards and Carter in Philadelphia, as well as with the Flyers' AHL team at the time, the Philadelphia Phantoms.

"We were very familiar with those kids, because they had been in the organization for a couple of years," Stevens told NHL.com, referring to the trios time with the Flyers. "It's not easy to add players at that point of year. But they made it easy because they were so respectful of their surroundings. They did anything they could do to help the team. They came in and were huge parts of our team."

Carter has given the Kings' offense a boost with four goals and five assists in the postseason, including a hat trick in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Phoenix Coyotes. Richards has contributed 11 points (four goals, seven assists) during the team's postseason run.

The duo played in the Stanley Cup finals two years ago with the Flyers, but lost in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Their separation last summer makes this spring's run in L.A. all the more rewarding.

"It (was) frustrating at first, but I couldn't be happier now," Richards told The Washington Times. "We get that second opportunity. Now we definitely have to take advantage of it."

Barring another trade, the duo should be together awhile. Richards is signed through 2020 and Carter is signed through 2022, under contracts given by the Flyers.

Richards and Carter are getting the last laugh at Philadelphia, which was sent packing by the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils in five games during the conference semifinals.

The two now have an opportunity to do what their former team failed to do—dispatch the Devils—and earn their first Stanley Cup.